offspring
English
Etymology
From Middle English ofspring, from Old English ofspring (“offspring, descendants, posterity”), equivalent to off- + spring. Compare Icelandic afspringur (“offspring”). More at off, spring.
Pronunciation
Noun
offspring (plural offspring or offsprings)
- A person's daughter or son; a person's child.
- Any of a person's descendants, including of further generations.
- An animal or plant's progeny or young.
- 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
- (figuratively) Anything produced; the result of an entity's efforts.
- Artists often treasure their works as their immortal offspring.
- (computing) A process launched by another process.
Usage notes
- The plural offsprings is mainly used for the computing sense.
Synonyms
- (daughter(s) and/or son(s)): baby/babies, child/children, fruit of one's loins, issue (plural only), get, kid/kids
- (all descendants): binary clone, descendants, fruit of one's loins, get, lineage, progeny, seed
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “daughter(s) and/or son(s)”): genitor (rare), parent, progenitor, father (male), mother (female)
- (antonym(s) of “descendants”): ancestors, forbears/forebears, forefathers
Derived terms
- donor offspring
- grandoffspring
- large offspring syndrome
- parent-offspring conflict
Translations
singular offspring (male, female or sex unspecified)
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plural or collective offspring (only males, only females, both sexes or sex unspecified)
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singular offspring, animal's or plant's progeny
plural or collective offspring, animal's or plant's progeny
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something produced
computing: process launched by another process
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Translations to be checked
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